Tuesday, 27 May 2014

I can’t walk…

You would think that being a self-proclaimed ‘Wheelchair
Boy’, people would understand that I cannot walk and this fact is not going to
change anytime soon. It’s an obvious statement right? My younger brother just
proved that by walking in my room while I was writing this post, reading the
title and saying, “Well done Einstein”. Quite funny but I wish that others
would understand that disability isn’t a game that I am going to get bored of
soon. I have accepted that there will not be a cure and I will be wheelchair
bound for the rest of my life so others should do the same.

I completely understand that people who care about me are
desperate to get rid of my Friedreich’s Ataxia and want to see me walk again
but quite frankly, that is not realistic. There is no cure and I think there is
more chance of Tottenham winning the league than one being found in my
lifetime. However, some family members will read about a new miracle invention and
think that it would help me as if they’re doctors who know everything about my
condition. Whether the NHS would fund it is a whole different matter but if
there was a way I could regain my ability to walk, the experts would soon tell
me in case I wanted to fund the cure privately.

The example that I’m referring to is called the ‘powered exoskeleton’,
a mobile machine that assists paralyzed people to move their limbs and get them
back on their feet. I’ve heard about this invention before but it’s seems the
story has entered the media spotlight again recently because a few relatives
have brought it up. It is an amazing technological advancement and I think it’s
great that people who can’t walk after an accident for instance can do the
unthinkable but it would not work for a condition like FA.

Why? As I’m not a doctor, I don’t know the exact details but
it’s something to do with the fact that Friedreich’s has attacked my muscles
and means they have less energy. Where as, a person who is able-bodied but then
suffers a spinal chord injury has working muscles. It’s just that the messages
from the brain are blocked. Wearing an external body suit combines the muscles,
which are already present, with the motors to mimic the human walking action.